Brewers ballpark funding deal lacks votes needed to pass in the Senate but talks continue

MADISON – Days away from an expected vote on a public ballpark funding plan designed to keep the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin, the deal's supporters haven't locked in the 17 votes needed to clear the state Senate — but negotiations will continue.

The news was first reported on WISN-TV's "Upfront," through interviews with Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, and bill co-author Sen. Dan Feyen, R-Fond du Lac. Both confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that lawmakers are still working toward a deal.

"Negotiations are continuing. I’m hopeful that we can get to 17 votes by Tuesday," Feyen chief of staff Tim Lakin told the Journal Sentinel.

Agard said she'd like to get to a "yes," and is working toward securing the changes that would get her there. Those include reducing the state's overall financial contribution and adjusting the make-up of the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District board to include representation from Milwaukee's local government.

American Family Field is owned largely by the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, a state-created agency that leases the ballpark to the Brewers. That lease requires the stadium district to pay for most of the ballpark's long-term maintenance and renovations.

On Wednesday, members of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted 14-1 to advance the two amended bills, hours after members of the Senate Committee on Government Operations voted 3-2 to support the proposals.

Some lawmakers who voted in favor of the deal in the committees conceded the package is a hard sell to their constituents, but said they've ultimately concluded it's worth doing in order to keep the team in Milwaukee through at least 2050.

Concerns among holdouts include cost, board representation and general opposition to using public money to benefit athletic teams.

The Republican-crafted proposal, supported by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, was approved by the Assembly in October on a 69-27 vote. The bills have since been amended. Any changes made to the legislation by the Senate would require Assembly sign-off before it makes its way to Evers.

Under the bills, as amended, the state would contribute an estimated $382 million — a reduction from previous versions resulting from the addition of a ticket surcharge on non-Brewers events held at the stadium. The amendment requires a $2 fee for events like concerts — with the amount rising to $8 for a ticket that allows access to "a stadium luxury box or suite."

The surcharge is expected to bring in about $550,000 per year, totaling $14.1 million through 2050, according to a Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimate. All of that revenue would be used to reduce the state's contribution to the stadium

In total, the funding package provides about $531 million in new public revenue, including $67.5 million each from Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee.

Meanwhile, the Brewers, owned primarily by multi-millionaire investor Mark Attanasio, would provide around $150 million, including rent payments, under the amended legislation. That's an increase from $140 million.

In return, the Brewers' lease at the publicly owned American Family Field would extend from the end of 2030 to 2050. The proposal is supported by Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley — both Democrats.

Assembly leaders said Thursday the chamber would be prepared to take up the Senate's version of the deal "immediately" assuming no further changes are made beyond the existing amendments.

"Assuming that the Senate would pass that over to us, I see no reason why we wouldn't have the votes to concur on that amendment almost immediately and put this issue to bed once and for all," Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, told reporters. "If they add other things in there, then that's a different conversation."

A number of senators reached by the Journal Sentinel late Friday afternoon remained undecided or unwilling to comment on their position going into the weekend. Only a few committed to supporting the bill on the Senate floor, while several who are leaning toward opposing it said they're open to being persuaded.

Mike Mikalsen, chief of staff to Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said the senator is a "hard no" on the deal as it stands. In a statement earlier this week, Nass said "only politicians could think this funding arrangement is a fair deal for the taxpayers."

Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, voted against advancing the legislation in both committees on Wednesday, and said she's a "no" on the bills in their current form.

"I'd like to get to yes, as I've made very clear to all the lobbyists hounding me," she told the Journal Sentinel. "But I can't swallow the massive size of the public spend, nor the lack of board representation for the city and county and legislative Dems."

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, has been a vocal opponent of the deal. To win his support, he has said, he'd like it to look a lot more like the package that funded the Milwaukee Bucks' Fiserv Forum, with changes including a 50-50 split between private and public funding, a ticket tax on all events including games and commercial development around the stadium.

Two Democrats voted in support of the deal in Wednesday's committee votes: Sens. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, and LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee. Staffers for Hesselbein told the Journal Sentinel they were unsure whether her vote would be the same on the Senate floor.

"I voted yes today because in my personal opinion, I didn't feel that we could afford to lose the Brewers," Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. "Even though the deal isn't perfect, and I would like to see it be made much better, we still have a stake at making sure that they continue to reside in Milwaukee."

The Journal Sentinel has reached out to every member of the Senate to request their position on the proposal.

Jessie Opoien and Tyler Katzenberger can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com and tkatzenberger@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Funding deal for Brewers ballpark still lacks 17 votes needed in Senate